Newlyweds Jodi and Martin Blaker cannot wait to see their wedding aired on BBC One for an entertainment show presented by Lorraine Kelly and Rob Beckett.

The happy couple is taking part in episode five of Wedding Day Winners, due to air on Saturday at 4.30pm.

Jodi and Martin Blaker said Wedding Day Winners was an amazing experience

Jodi says they are ‘so excited’ to see it and will be gathering around the television with family and friends.

She said: “It was just the most amazing experience. It really did bring us closer together as a family.”

They are expecting to see the RNLI featuring heavily in filming, as Martin, 39, has been involved as a lifeboat volunteer for more than 20 years and won a Pride of Britain award in 2013 for helping to save a woman’s life as part of the national RNLI Flood Rescue Team.

He also works for the charity, as area lifesaving manager, based at Littlehampton Lifeboat Station and covering the area from Selsey to Eastbourne.

The couple, who now live in West Worthing, met in October 2015 through Match.com.

Jodi, 40, said: “I was about to give up on it really, I thought it was not for me. Then Martin contacted me and we agreed to meet the next night. We were inseparable after that.”

Jodi brought up her daughter Carlie, 21, as a single parent and said it was quite hard, so Martin was her ‘knight in shining armour’. He proposed on their first holiday together, in May last year.

Jodi said: “I wasn’t expecting it at all. I didn’t answer him because I was crying so much. He had even asked my daughter and mum and dad for their permission.

“He said he knew we wouldn’t be able to get married for some time but he just wanted to show he was committed to me. Then we saw the show on Facebook and thought we had nothing to lose. We never thought it would happen.”

They were among 17,000 couple who applied and were told on August 1 last year they were down to the last 12. The winning couples had their weddings filmed for show and went head-to-head on the day to win a luxury honeymoon.

Jodi said: “We had to buy the dresses but the venue was provided, as we were married at Pinewood Studios. The reception was held at Heatherden Hall and we were allowed 50 guests.

“It was amazing. That was what Martin and I wanted, our friends and family to just have the best day. They said it was the most amazing thing because they were so involved, everyone was just having the most amazing time.”

There were hilariously random challenges with all the family and friends, including Jodi’s colleagues at Focus Group in Southwick, where she is head of credit control.

Jodi said: “There were things going on that we weren’t aware of. My mum and dad were whisked off to Portugal, where Dad did a skydive, and friends and family did a dance off.”

The couple were married in October 2017 and Martin’s 11-year-old son, Callum, was allowed time off school to be at the wedding.

They were living in Norfolk Road, Littlehampton, at the time of the filming, so the town is also expected to feature in the show.

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